DATA C E NT RE
Operator type: EU and EEA-based
operators are able to apply for licences.
Status: Amendments to the republic’s
gambling legislation became effective
on 1 January, 2017, and allow EU/EEA
companies to apply for online licences.
The first international operator licence was
granted on 28 January, 2017. The licensing
regime has recently been called into question
after at least one operator announced
it would no longer pursue a licence,
citing the current regime as incompatible
with EU law. There is no transitional/
grace period for licence applicants while
awaiting full licensure.
DENMARK
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, fantasy sports, horse race betting,
poker, casino, bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Sports betting, poker
and casino licences are available to private
operators. Lottery is controlled by the
state monopoly.
Status: The Danish online gambling regime
went live on 1 January, 2012. ISP-blocking
measures are active in the jurisdiction and
the Danish Gaming Authority has been
granted an injunction to block operators and
suppliers that have been targeting Danish
customers without the requisite licence.
Denmark has passed amendments to the
country’s gambling legislation, opening
up online bingo and horse race betting
markets to private operators, effective from
1 January, 2018.
ESTONIA
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: Licences for all gambling
products are available to private operators
save for lotteries, which are reserved
exclusively for the monopoly operator.
Status: Operators seeking to accept business
from players in Estonia must be issued an
activity licence for the type of gambling they
wish to offer, then an operating permit to
provide the services remotely. A blacklist
of about 1,100 operators is maintained and
updated by local authorities and ISP and
payment blocking is in force. Though some
operators argue that the regime is still not
compatible with EU law, there has been no
open challenge by the EC to date.
FINLAND
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All gambling products
are under the exclusive control of
the three monopoly providers, Raha-
automaattiyhdistys (“RAY”), Fintoto Oy
and Veikkaus Oy. The monopolies merged
into one state entity on 1 January, 2017.
Status: An ECJ ruling confirmed that
Finland’s three monopoly providers are
legally permitted, which was subsequently
written into law. In November 2013, the EC
also withdrew infringement proceedings.
Active enforcement measures are in place
(restrictive marketing for offshore operators
and ISP blocking).
FRANCE
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, bingo
and lottery.
Operator type: Private operators can
obtain online licences for sports betting,
horse race betting and poker. The monopoly
has exclusive rights to bingo and lottery.
Status: A regulated market since the
introduction of a licensing regime in
2010, following which the EC withdrew
its infringement proceedings. Parliament
announced a full review of French gambling
legislation in 2016, although little progress
has been made to date except for changes to
allow for international poker liquidity and
provisions relating to the organisation of
esports tournaments. ARJEL has reached
an agreement with regulators from Portugal,
Italy and Spain to allow for international
poker liquidity, with the first licence to
operate cross-border shared liquidity granted
in December 2017.
GERMANY
Regulated gambling products:
Schleswig-Holstein, a small northern-
German state, regulates sports betting,
horse race betting, poker, casino and
bingo. The other 15 states of Germany
currently permit only sports betting and
horse race betting.
Operator type: Private operators can no
longer obtain licences in Schleswig-Holstein
and those in existence will expire on
30 June, 2019. In the other 15 states,
horse race betting licences are available
at a regional level but the position
surrounding the 20 available sports-betting
licences is still uncertain.
Status: The licensing regime is in a state
of flux. The tender for 20 federal sports-
betting licences was aborted following a
number of appeals by operators who were
not granted licences. The ECJ ruled in 2016
that Germany’s sports-betting regulation
was incompatible with EU law and that
enforcement actions would be unlawful
where none of the 20 licences could, in
practice, be acquired. The decision led
to calls for comprehensive legal reform
of Germany’s gambling legislation. In
March 2017, all 16 German states signed
amendments to the country’s gambling law;
however, on 22 September, 2017, Schleswig-
Holstein’s state parliament voted against
ratifying these, with North-Rhine Westphalia
and Hesse since announcing their intention
to follow suit. Without full state support, the
intended changes did not take effect, further
delaying reform. A Federal Administrative
Court ruling on 26 October, 2017, upheld the
ban on online casinos and poker. The ruling,
which is now the subject of a constitutional
complaint, appears to have led to action
by local regulators seeking to enforce the
prohibition of online casinos by issuing
interdiction letters to operators. Payment-
blocking initiatives are also being pursued.
GREAT BRITAIN
Regulated gambling products: Sports
betting, horse race betting, poker, casino,
bingo and lottery.
Operator type: All licences are available
to private operators save for lottery, which
is reserved exclusively for the monopoly
provider, Camelot.
Status: Any operator that transacts with,
or advertises to, British residents requires a
licence from the Gambling Commission.
Licensed operators are required to source
gambling software from commission-licensed
businesses. Since 1 August, 2017, the first
use of free plays for remote gaming will be
taxed and winnings will be brought into the
duty calculation at the end of the rewagering
process. The UK government has announced
its intention to increase Remote Gaming
Duty at the next budget to cover a shortfall
in lost tax revenue resulting from a reduction
in maximum stakes on fixed odds betting
terminals from £100 to £2.
iGB Affiliate Issue 69 JUN/JUL 2018
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